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Meet Our Market Manager

In July, Maryanne Lessley was hired as the Memphis Farmers Market Manager. Lessley’s responsibilities include overseeing vendor and volunteer recruitment and management, website maintenance, production and distribution of the market e-newsletter, event coordination and day-to-day market operations.

Lessley was born in Memphis and raised on a family farm in Bartlett. She had wonderful adventures growing up on the farm including selling “cut your own Christmas trees”, living in an amazing peach orchard and growing a wide variety of vegetables.

She graduated from the University of Memphis with a BBA degree in accounting. She has held several accounting positions over the years for large corporations but most recently was financial manager for her husband’s family business, Signs Now. She has been married for 14 years and has two daughters, eleven and eight years old.

“I’m wild about the market,” says Lessley. “It attracts more and more people each Saturday and everyone has such a good experience. The food is incredible and the fun is contagious.”

If you see Maryanne at the market, be sure to say "hello."

How the Memphis Farmers Market Began

In June of 2005, a community-based committee formed a Board of Directors to create and operate a public farmers market in Downtown Memphis. The Memphis Farmers Market (MFM) is a seasonal outdoor market located in the Pavilion at Central Station in the historic South Main Arts District. The all-volunteer Board of Directors has created a Tennessee nonprofit corporation, and has an application pending with the IRS for 501(c)(3) status.

Our Mission:

The mission of the Memphis Farmers Market is to serve as a community-gathering place where local farmers, producers and artisans can offer fresh agricultural and related products.

Our Goals:
1. Improve the community's nutrition options
2. Assist area farmers, producers, and artisans with sustainable business opportunities
3. Generate a sense of local pride while furthering the economic development of our community
4. Provide a vehicle to educate the community on nutrition and good health.

MFM Board of Directors

Immediate Past Chair and Community Relations Chair
Andy Kitsinger
Director of Planning and Development, Memphis Center City Commission

Andy Kitsinger has been an architect, urban designer and city planner for over 20 years focused on creating spaces that have a positive impact on their community. He is currently the Director of Planning & Development for the Memphis Center City Commission, and previously worked at the architectural firm of Looney Ricks Kiss where he served as the project manager on AutoZone Park and FedExForum. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Memphis Historic Landmarks Commission and President-Elect of AIA Memphis, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Market Chair and Marketing Chair
Sharon Leicham
Freelance Writer and Speaker

Sharon Leicham is a freelance writer and speaker born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley farm town of Merced, California. She graduated from the University of Oregon and did graduate studies at the University of Utah and the Pacific Institute in Seattle, Washington. She moved to Memphis from Oakland, California eight years ago settling downtown in the South Main Arts District. She is the Past President of the South Main Association, an advisory board member of MDATA and the South Main Association and is a founder of Cultural Synergy Memphis. She directs the market's marketing and public relations.

Vice-Chair and Events Coordinator
Susan Kitsinger
Manager, Payer Contracting, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp.

Susan Kitsinger is the Manager of Payer Contracting for Baptist Memorial Healthcare Corporation responsible for client education, contract negotiations and serves as the liaison between employers and third party payers. She is involved with several professional healthcare organizations and periodically works as an event planner with the local chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Susan is also a freelance food writer and previously worked as the restaurant reviewer for the Memphis Flyer.

Secretary
Lauren Taylor
Grants Manager, Hyde Family Foundations

Lauren Taylor worked in development at the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA), serving as the Grants and Research Officer. She formerly edited the Cooper-Young neighborhood’s monthly newspaper, LampLighter, and was a freelance writer for the magazines At Home in Memphis and Justine. She received a BA from Smith College and has lived in Memphis for almost six years, after previously residing in Massachusetts and Vermont. She serves on the board of directors for the Cooper-Young Development Corporation, Evergreen Historic District Association, and True Story Pictures.

Treasurer
Jim Street
Chief Financial Officer, Memphis Center City Commission

Governance Chair
Linda Cornish
Vice President, Development & Member Services, Memphis Regional Chamber

Linda Cornish has over 10 years of management consulting experience with Arthur Andersen Business Consulting and Hitachi Business Consulting. She has her MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles and BS in Business Administration from University of California at Riverside. She moved to Memphis from Los Angeles four years ago with her husband Bob Cornish. In addition to her role at the Memphis Chamber, Linda is a certified Project Management Professional, is in the Leadership Memphis Class of 2008, a member of the James Beard Foundation, and a member of the Harbor Town Garden Club. She enjoys gardening, cooking, running, and spending time with Bob and their two Sealyham Terriers Elvis and Kramer.

Vendor Recruitment and Management
Liz Phillips
Freelance Food Writer

Liz Phillips writes about food for Edible Memphis and Memphis Parent magazines. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, she moved to Memphis six years ago from Chicago, where she did an M.A. in American literature at the University of Chicago. Liz earned her bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Vassar College in New York’s Hudson Valley, has worked as a film editor, and has taught English in Savannah, Ga., Brooklyn, Chicago and Memphis. She currently serves on the board of Slow Food Memphis, where she focuses on school garden-to-plate programs.

Memphis Restaurant Association Liaison
Mac Edwards
Proprietor, McEwen's on Monroe

Mac Edwards, owner of the McEwen's On Monroe, received the 2004 Memphis Restaurant Association “Restaurateur of The Year” award. He has been in the food and beverage industry for 30 years.

Farmer Representative
Henry Jones
Farmer, Owner of Jones Orchard

Henry Jones handles the farmers market and entertainment segments of the Jones Orchard, a family farm located 10 miles north of Memphis. Jones Orchard has a booth at the Memphis Farmers Market.

Farmer Representative
Keith Forrester
Farmer, Owner of Whitton Flower and Produce

Keith Forrester represents the farmers and contributes their input and ideas to the board. Keith's farm is located in Tyronza, Arkansas.

Health Chair
Mary Cay Oyler
Manager, Nutrition and Wellness Education at the Church Health Center

Marketing & Advertising Co-Chair
Christopher Bevel
Product Manager, FedEx Services

Christopher Bevel manages the MFM website and digital marketing strategy. Christopher is a life-time Memphis resident and advocate for green-friendly business and community initiatives. He earned a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University, Washington DC. Currently, he is a Sr. Marketing Specialist, Product Manager with FedEx Services.

Operations and Site Development
Lawrence Migliara
Proprietor, Outdoors Inc.

Lawrence Migliara is a life long resident of Memphis. He is the co-owner of Outdoors Inc., the Public Sector Representative for the South Main Association and a broker with Trammell Crow. His affiliations include the Memphis Area Association of Realtors, Bluff City Canoe Club and Cultural Synergy Memphis.

Volunteer Chair
Terre Gorham
Editor, The Downtowner Magazine

Terre Gorham tells the Memphis Metro area about the benefits of living and shopping in Downtown Memphis (and at the market) through The Downtowner magazine she edits, a publication that is located in Downtown and distributed throughout the community.

Grants Chair
Corky Neale
Director of Innovation and Research for the RISE Foundation

Corky is the in Memphis. Corky drives a community-wide collaborative of about 165 nonprofits and public agencies called the Memphis Debt Collaborative which addresses the credit debt and bankruptcy issues in Memphis. Corky came to Memphis 13 years ago to be Deputy Director of Housing and Community Development with a broad inner city development portfolio. He has graduate degrees in urban-economic geography and urban planning and has taught at the University of Illinois, Champaign; Illinois State, University of Cincinnati and the University of Memphis and is currently teaching part-time at Rhodes College.

Market Manager
Maryanne Lessley

Maryanne Lessley was born in Memphis and raised on a family farm in Bartlett. She had wonderful adventures growing up on the farm like selling “cut your own Christmas trees”, living in an amazing peach orchard and growing lots and lots of vegetables. Maryanne graduated from the University of Memphis with a BBA degree in accounting. She has held several accounting positions over the years for large corporations but most recently was financial manager for her husband’s family business, Signs Now. She has been married for 14 years and has two beautiful daughters, eleven and eight years old.

Maryanne is a true “foodie”. She loves to cook and experiment with fresh food. With the help of her parents and children, she is growing her own vegetable garden this year with over 100 tomato plants. She is enjoying her new career as the market manager and is wild about the market. “You have to experience the Memphis Farmers Market for yourself. The food is incredible and the fun is contagious. If you come down once…you’re certain to come back again”.

Legal Chair
Bob Cornish
Counsel, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Bob Cornish is counsel at the law firm of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC in Memphis. Bob's practice concentrates on securities law matters for hedge funds and investment advisors. He is a graduate of Davidson College and the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University. Bob also serves on the Session of First Presbyterian Church of Memphis, the Harbor Town Community Association and as President of the Davidson College Alumni Association of Memphis. Prior to moving to Memphis, Bob served as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer for Pacific Income Advisers and as President of the Santa Monica Junior Chamber of Commerce.